Story Works Round Table | Conversations About Craft
Episodes
Story Works Round Table 065 | Writing Groups
02 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we pull one from the archives. This episode was formerly known as video-only episode 2. Alida, Kathryn, and Matt discuss the benefit...
Story Works Round Table 064 | Story Collections, Novels-in-Stories, Serialization
26 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we bring Matt Herron back to the Round Table to discuss what we writers can do with our short stories. We define the collections, the novel...
Story Works Round Table 063 | Short Stories: how they differ from the novel
19 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss short stories and how they’re different from the novel. We cover topics like the shortness of short st...
Story Works Round Table 062 | Energizing Dialogue
12 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert answer a listener's question and address how to better write scenes heavy with dialogue. We talk about keeping t...
Story Works Round Table 061 | Character Motivation
05 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we welcome Kathryn back to her seat at the Round Table, and thanks again to Matt Herron and Emma Darwin for keeping the seat warm! We're ta...
Story Works Round Table 060 | Everything You Need to Know About Show, Don't Tell, part 2
28 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alida and Emma Darwin continue the conversation on “show, don’t tell” this week. We get right into psychic distance and more. Way more. Sh...
Story Works Round Table 059 | Everything You Want to Know About Show, Don't Tell
21 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Emma Darwin discuss the old adage "Show, don't tell." We deep into what that saying really means, discussing the point of view le...
Story Works Round Table 058 | Narrative Drive
14 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida & Robert are joined by award-winning author and writing teacher Emma Darwin. We discuss narrative drive, the forward movement ess...
Story Works Round Table 057 | Historical Fiction Genre Series
07 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Robert and I welcome Emma Darwin to the round table for an extensive discussion about writing historical fiction, but as with every genre s...
Story Works Round Table | 056 First Encounter Fiction
31 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, & Matt discuss tales of first encounters, from the pilgrim to the UFO. These are ethnocentric stories addressing a prima...
Story Works Round Table 055 | Hard & Soft World Systems
24 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, and guest host Matt Herron discuss hard and soft systems of magic, science, and other forms of world-building logic necessar...
Story Works Round Table 054 | Keeping a Community of Writers
17 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our birthday! SWRT is one! This week, Robert and Alida welcome MG Herron to the round table to discuss the benefits of keeping a community of w...
Story Works Round Table 053 | What Writers Really Do part 2
10 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Robert continue their conversation about the writing process, creativity, first drafts, where ideas come from, and how revision r...
Story Works Round Table 052 | What Writers Really Do...
03 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Robert discuss a craft essay by George Saunders, titled "What Writers Really Do When They Write." It's all about the writing proc...
Story Works Round Table 051 | Reality-Based Fiction
26 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss using real people and events in your fiction. What are the pitfalls of writing fact into fiction? What e...
Story Works Round Table 050 | Openings
19 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we pull an episode from the video archives. Alida, Kathryn, and Matt discuss what makes a great opening. Do you need to begin in media res?...
Story Works Round Table 049 | Balancing Action & Non-Action
12 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss the need for both action and non-action in story arcs, how to balance act...
Story Works Round Table 048 | Misunderstood Storycraft Rules
05 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss the rules of writing we all know but often don't fully understand, how they trip us up and actually become limiting...
Story Works Round Table 047 | Unlikeable Characters
29 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss unlikeable characters. What’s the difference between a flawed character and an unlikeable one? Can you...
Story Works Round Table 046 | Writing Through Anxiety
22 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert welcome special guest, Micah Joel, back to the Round Table to talk about the writing life. No matter who we are, we've prob...
Story Works Round Table 45 | Lit RPG
15 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome special guest Micah Joel to the Round Table this week to talk Lit RPG and gamified fiction. If you aren't familiar with this rising genre, ...
Story Works Round Table 44 | World Building in Dystopian & Post Apocalyptic Fiction
08 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alida & Robert welcome J Thorn back to the round table to discuss world building in the genres of dystopian & post apocalyptic fiction. ...
Story Works Round Table 043 | Balancing Character & World Building
01 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the process of writing early drafts in regard to character and world building. Sometimes one can seem ...
Story Works Round Table 042 | Post Apocalyptic & Dystopian Fiction
22 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Robert welcome best-selling author J Thorn to the Round Table to discuss post apocalyptic and dystopian fiction as part of our ge...
Story Works Round Table 041 | Climaxes
15 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk climaxes, both at the chapter level and the book level. It’s a lively conversation with examples and a r...
Story Works Round Table 040 | Character Relationships
08 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we discuss how to keep the "stuff" between your supporting cast of characters real, avoiding the problem of "nice-nice," and using tension ...
Story Works Round Table 039 | Tropes
01 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert & Kathryn discuss the oft used and oft misunderstood trope. What is a trope really? How do we use them? Why and how are s...
Story Works Round Table 038 | Bechdel-Wallace Test
25 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn & Robert talk about the Bechdel-Wallace test and gender equality in literature. Do we need to stop and think about our f...
Story Works Round Table 037 | Revision
18 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss revision, including some of our favorite tools and techniques for making the process easier. Visit WordEssen...
Story Works Round Table 036 | First Drafts
11 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss first drafts. Love them or hate them, there's no other way to start your book. We talk the pain and pleasure of g...
Story Works Round Table 035 | Goal Setting
04 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of New Year’s, or maybe just in time for New Year’s, we discuss goal setting and all the tips and tricks we use to help ourselves identif...
Story Works Round Table 034 | Motivation
28 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, in honor of the holidays and the new year coming fast, we talk motivation. What motivates us to write and what are our favorite tools and t...
Story Works Round Table 033 | Backstory
21 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn discuss backstory. What is it? How much is a good thing? How can you avoid overdoing or undergoing it? And mor...
Story Works Round Table 032 | Resting the Writer's Brain
14 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the benefits of travel, retreat, and otherwise resting the writer's brain. How to write on the go, find inspirati...
Story Works Round Table 031 | Writing Skills, part 2
07 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida & Kathryn continue their conversation with special guest Steve Peha about writing skills we all need, regardless of genre. Show notes & ...
Story Works Round Table 030 | Writing Skills, part 1
30 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida & Kathryn welcome Steve Peha to the Round Table. We learn about Steve’s journey from technical writer to writing teacher to fiction writer...
Story Works Round Table 029 | Emotional Wounds & Character Arcs
23 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Robert's still on vacation, so Alida & Kathryn welcome special guest, Becca Puglisi back to the show to talk about character arcs and role emotion...
Story Works Round Table 028 | Emotional Wound Thesaurus
16 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida & Kathryn welcome Becca Puglisi, co-author of the Emotional Wound Thesaurus, to the Round Table. Getting your characters' emotional wounds r...
Story Works Round Table 027 | First Person Point of View
09 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss the first person point of view (1st person POV). We get into strengths and weaknesses, a common misconception, and ...
Story Works Round Table 026 | Writing Villains
02 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In a companion episode to #023, 3D Villains, we discuss writing villains, with and without POVs. What makes them challenging to write? How to revise t...
Story Works Round Table 025 | Re-readable Books
26 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert talk re-readable books, what makes them worth visiting again and what can we learn from them as writers. Visit the St...
Story Works Round Table 024 | Twists
19 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk about twists. Kathryn brings lots of questions to the round table and Robert makes a case for avoiding gimmicks.Visit WordEssen...
Story Works Round Table 023 | 3D Villains
12 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss what makes a villain a good one, getting into character development, the pitfalls of typecasting your villain, an...
Story Works Round Table 022 | Inspiration
05 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss inspiration, sources of it, high concept ideas, and whether you need to be inspired to write a story, or...
Story Works Round Table 021 | Distinct Characters
28 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss going beyond character development and making your characters distinct from each other, whether they’...
Story Works Round Table 020 | Setting
21 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss setting. How is setting different from world building? What do you put on the page and what should you l...
Story Works Round Table 019 | Trouble
14 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the importance of trouble to any story. The conversation gets nitty gritty with plot, character arc, chapter stru...
Story Works Round Table 018 | Naming
07 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week Kathryn poses the interesting question, when does a character or place earn a name in our stories? If you name a character, does he have to ...
Story Works Round Table 017 | Genre Series: Literary Fiction
31 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have Mike Stop Continues back to discuss literary fiction. What makes a work literary? How is it different from genre fiction? Is there r...
Story Works Round Table 016 | Cliffhangers
24 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss cliffhangers. What are they? How do they differ from end hooks? Should you use them? Can you do them wel...
SWRT 015 | Fantasy Adventure
17 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida and Kathryn welcome award-winning fantasy author Alina Sayre back to the show as part of our genre series. We have a fun conversation about genr...
Story Works Round Table 014 | Foreshadowing Redux
10 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we welcome author Mike Stop Continues to the round table to delve deeper into the art of foreshadowing. We define foreshadowing, discuss it...
Story Works Round Table 013 | Plotting Science Fiction
03 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert welcome Chris Fox back to continue our discussion of science fiction. This week, we focus on plotting those science fiction...
Story Works Round Table 012 | Foreshadowing
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s show gets a bit heated as we struggle to define (or agree on a definition) of foreshadowing and all its nuance. What makes good foreshad...
Story Works Round Table 011 | Openings: Reading & Reacting
20 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert bring in novels and check out the way they open. We discuss what works for each of the very different stories ...
Story Works Round Table 010 |Genre Series: Mystery Plots
13 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida and Kathryn welcome cozy mystery author, Sara Rosett, back to the show to discuss plotting mysteries. No matter the genre you write, plotti...
Story Works Round Table 009 | Genre Series: Middle Grade Fantasy
06 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida and Kathryn welcome award-winning author Alina Sayre to discuss middle grade fantasy as part of our genre series. We cover lots of great topics ...
Story Works Round Table 008 | Making the Unfamiliar Familiar
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss the process of introducing readers to new worlds and new experiences by making the strange comfortable enough to ge...
Story Works Round Table 007 | Arcless Protagonists
22 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The rule is that your hero must have a character arc. So when is it all right to break the rule? Alida, Robert and Kathryn discuss the merits and pitf...
Story Works Round Table 006 | Genre Series Science Fiction
15 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest, Chris Fox, joins the round table this week to discuss science fiction. We have a great conversation about sci fi's roots in pulp fictio...
Story Works Round Table 005 | Soggy Middle Problem
08 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss the soggy middle problem and what to do about it. Many writers struggle with the middle of their plots&n...
Story Works Round Table 004 | Genre Series: Mystery, Characters
01 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Cozy mystery author, Sara Rosett stops by the round table this week to talk about characters and the mystery genre. In a companion episode coming...
Story Works Round Table ep. 002 | Point of View
25 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk about point of view. You might be surprised to learn it's far more complex and meaningful than just your POV character. We discuss ...
Story Works Round Table ep. 003 | Genre Series: Dark Fiction
25 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome special guest, Lisa von Biela, to the Story Works Round Table this week to launch a series on genre fiction. Lisa has numerous dark, horror...
Story Works Round Table ep. 001| Dialogue
25 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we discuss how dialogue functions in your fiction. We go deep into how dialogue is different from the ways we speak in real life and how yo...
Story Works Round Table Ep. 000 | Introduction
19 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Wondering what the Story Works Round Table is all about? Want to meet the hosts? In this brief episode, you can do just that. Alida Winternheimer, Kat...